Typical averaging frequency counters are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,609,326 entitled "Counting Apparatus and Method Using Separate Counters for Reference and Unknown Signal", issued to Alan S. Bagley and France Rode on Sept. 28, 1971, and by James L. Sorden in "A New Generation in Frequency and Time Measurements", Hewlett-Packard Journal, June 1974. In these counters a number of signals recurring at an unknown frequency are gated to an event counter for a number of time intervals. A cumulative time interval measurement circuit is activated synchronously with the event counter to measure a cumulative duration of the number of time intervals comprising a desired measurement. The number of events counted by the event counter divided by the cumulative duration of the time intervals represents the value of the unknown frequency. However, a systematic error is associated with the measurement of each time interval due to mismatches in the start and stop functions of the cumulative time interval measurement circuit. For reciprocal frequency measurement techniques using short time intervals this error causes especially undesirable errors in the determination of the unknown frequency.